Nio's Autonomous Driving Systems Head Said To Be Leaving The Company: Here's Why

Nio Inc’s NIO head of autonomous driving systems engineering, Zhang Jianyong, is leaving the company to start his own automotive chips venture, CnEVpost reported on Thursday, citing XEV Lab, a media outlet focusing on the smart car industry.

What Happened: Nio’s venture capital arm Nio Capital is interested in investing in Zhang’s business linked to autonomous driving and possibly in the area of automotive chips with high computing power.

Nio did not respond to Benzinga’s request for comment at press time.

Before joining Nio, Zhang worked with SAIC from 2013-14 where he was responsible for the pre-development of autonomous driving, the report said.

See Also: Tesla, Nio Rival Xpeng Is Targeting 25% Gross Margin: Key Takeaways From Q4 Earnings Call

Overlapping Reporting: Nio had reportedly roped in Ren Shaoqing in August for its L4 autonomous driving technology. Shaoqing was reporting directly to William Li, Nio’s founder, and CEO.

Zhang, as AVP for autonomous driving systems, was reporting to Li as well, the report said, citing local media.

The dual reporting structure is likely to come to an end with Zhang’s departure.

Nio is focusing on launching newer models based on the NT2.0 platform.

Price Action: Nio stock closed 3.5% lower at $21.7 a share on Wednesday.

Photo: Courtesy of Nio